Foreign officials, it turns out, can also read the polls. As summer builds, a realisation is palpable in both the US and across Europe, that Sir Keir Starmer is likely to be the next British Prime Minister. Rishi Sunak, a malicious international rumour has it, knows this too — which is why he is investing so much political capital into the forthcoming global artificial intelligence conference in London. This, rather than focusing on more immediate problems — where to begin? — is said to only make sense if the current occupant in Downing Street is in fact using the time he has left to set himself up for his next job in Silicon Valley.
That this rumour is even being taken seriously in foreign capitals shows how fast political stock can drain from an unpopular leader. It is also reflective of a new mood in Washington, Brussels, Paris, Berlin and Kyiv: paying attention to the Labour Party.
